Shadow (Final Fantasy VI)

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Shadow
Game series	Final Fantasy series
First game	Final Fantasy VI
Character designer(s)	Yoshitaka Amano
In-Universe Information
Class/Job	Assassin
Special ability	Throw
Desperation Attack	Shadow Fang

Shadow (シャドウ, Shadō^?) is a fictional character in the Square Co., Ltd. computer role-playing game Final Fantasy VI. He is a yojimbo. The aggressive dog Interceptor is his companion.

1 Biography
2 Dreams
3 Throw
4 Quotes
5 Music
6 External links

[edit] Biography

Shadow can be encountered many times throughout the World of Balance. The first time is in South Figaro's cafe; the second, outside the house near which Sabin ends up after falling in the Lete River (where he can temporarily join the party); the third, in Kohlingen (where he joins the party for a price); the fourth, on the boat to Thamasa (after which he briefly joins the party); and the fifth, on the Floating Continent (after which he can again join the party). Be advised that during the first and second time he joins the party (with Sabin and Cyan, and with the party in Kohlingen), if the player has made a considerable sum of money fighting monsters, Shadow will consider his payment made in full and will leave the party right after the battle that gets the last bit of his salary. This can be avoided by killing Shadow and keeping him that way until the player reaches the point in the story where he leaves automatically (upon reaching the waterfall past the Phantom Forest, and once the party finds Terra in Zozo).

When the Floating Continent is falling apart, the player may save Shadow by choosing to wait for him rather than to immediately jump onto the airship (he arrives with 4 seconds left on the clock). If saved, Shadow can be found lying wounded after defeating the Sr. Behemoth in the cave in the Veldt. After that, he recovers at Thamasa and can then permanently join the player's party if the player wagers a Striker at the Colosseum and wins the ensuing battle against him. If he is not saved, during the ending sequence of the game, his profile image appears in the upper corner of the screen as a tribute of sorts. Otherwise, he is shown climbing down Kefka's tower with the rest of the characters.

If Shadow is not saved, Relm will be in the Veldt cave. Shadow was originally not supposed to survive the Floating Continent, but the programmers changed this late in development, and missed changing the text that mistakenly uses the "her" pronoun. Since Shadow is never seen without his helmet (except in "secret" flashbacks; see below), it's no surprise that some players could be confused into thinking Shadow was female.

At the end of the game, Shadow dismisses Interceptor and starts down a different path out of Kefka's Tower. While it is unclear what his intentions are, his last words in the game speak of a new beginning and starting over. Interceptor is later seen with Relm in Strago's section of the ending.

[edit] Dreams

If Shadow is in the party when they sleep (either at an inn, in a tent, or in a number of specific beds but most commonly at the inn in Jidoor), there is a chance that Shadow will "dream" of one of five specific events in his life before he became Shadow.

Shadow's dreams show the story of the train robbers Baram and Clyde (a clear reference to Bonnie and Clyde). After a successful robbery, Baram suggests the name Shadow for the duo. In another dream, Baram is apparently mortally wounded and asks Clyde to deliver his coup de grâce, but he runs away instead, not being able to go through with this. It is because of Clyde's inability to kill Baram upon Baram's own request that Clyde later trains himself to be able to kill as an assassin without any emotional attachments. Clyde makes it to Thamasa, where an unknown woman invites him to stay. Along with a dog, he is seen leaving the house where Strago and Relm live. He later leaves that home saying he wants a girl, his daughter, to live in a happy place. Interceptor attempts to stop him, but the exact line is, "You've come to fetch me. But I won't be going back. I want you and the girl to live in peace." This suggests that Shadow is leaving because his wife or lover, the woman that found him once injured in Thamasa, has passed on.

Shadow shares three notable similarities with Relm: first, the two are the only characters who can equip the Memento Ring (which has the description "Departed mom's love protects against fatal magic attacks"). Second, they are the only two people that Interceptor likes. Third, they both can be found at the Veldt, in the World of Ruin, depending on whether or not Shadow was saved.

Another character in Final Fantasy VI, Strago Magus, makes it very clear that Relm's mother passed on shortly after her birth. Futhermore, an NPC in Thamasa in the World of Balance says "Relm isn't really Strago's grandaughter. I heard she's the daughter of a friend of his". For Relm to have been alive while Clyde abandoned her, his wife and/or lover indeed had to have died prior to his leaving.

Strago later does not recognize Shadow's voice, which either may be due to Strago's old age, or to Shadow having only been in Thamasa for a short time. Another possiblity is that both Shadow and Strago were simply keeping silent about this knowledge for Relm's protection (since she's only 10 years old after all). It is likely that the friend of Strago was Relm's mother, as Thamasa is a very secluded village with deep secrets in the community. Outsiders are rarely welcome. This may have been why Clyde left when his wife/lover died.

Further evidence can be heard if Shadow is among those taken to the top of Kefka's Tower. As the party shouts their cries of hope and love, Shadow says "I know what friendship is...and family". This implies he has met a family member over the course of the game.

These facts, along with Shadow's dreams, lead many players to evidently conclude that Shadow was once Clyde Arrowny, either the husband of Strago Magus's friend or his son-in-law, likely making him Relm's father.

Another hint lies in the Ending Credits, when the characters' themes each play for a short bit. Shadow's theme is in between Relm's and Strago's, indicating a possible mention. The contrast between his and Relm's themes in the end is very noticeable, as Relm's music consists of higher-pitched and soft piano music, and Shadow's theme uses an organ much louder and more prominent than hers (or anybody else's theme for that matter; decibel-wise Shadow has the loudest music in the Ending Theme. This is probably thanks to his suggested suicide at the end of his scene.)

Although not necessarily related, in the Playstation re-release of the game, there is a possible hint at this. During one of the videos, the camera pans up to Shadow, and before he opens his eyes, a flash of light happens for a split second. Using tools to play the video frame by frame, a sketch of Amano's Relm appears briefly right in the middle of the flash.

[edit] Throw

Shadow's special command, Throw, allows him to throw any weapon in the inventory, such as swords, spears, shurikens, and skeans/edges (which affect multiple foes). In the case of weapons, the battle power of the weapon is doubled and it will ignore defence, and all attributes other than the elemental property will be ignored. In the case of shurikens, it will simply ignore defence. In the case of Skeans, it's simply a multi-target attack that is roughly 5/6 the power of a level 3 spell.

Sometimes, when Shadow is struck in battle, Interceptor will "intercept" the attack and counterattack. If the player does not save Shadow from the Floating Continent, Interceptor will become Relm's companion in the World of Ruin. Interceptor is technically a more-or-less permanent status effect, and can be traded around between characters with the Rippler spell (though the player has to manipulate enemies into using it. Reach Frogs are the best option). Interceptor's attacks are Wind Fang and Takedown. Wild fang is more powerful, but also less accurate. The attack which is used is random.

[edit] Quotes

A cold shoulder in his first scene (South Figaro, World of Balance): "Leave us. The dog eats strangers..."
A similar line regarding Relm and Interceptor (Thamasa, World of Balance): "No problem. The dog doesn't usually like strangers, though." -
Asking why he came to the Coliseum: "All I know how to do is fight..."
Waiting for him on the Floating Continent: "I'll be blown to bits before I can even collect my pay..."
To Terra on the boat heading towards Thamasa: "In this world there are many like me who have killed their emotions. Don't forget that."
To himself right before Kefka's Tower crumbles: "Baram! I'm going to stop running. I'm going to begin all over again..."
At the end of the game, after the credits finish playing if you don't save Shadow's life: "I don't forgive you for letting me die."

[edit] Music

In Final Fantasy VI Original Sound Version, Shadow's theme is called "Shadow" -- disc 1, track 11 sample (help·info), and it consists of an acoustic guitar and whistling sound effects, which result in what sounds like music from American Western movies. His leitmotif is also found in the track: